U.S./World category, Page 308
Maternal deaths have fallen to pre-pandemic levels, new U.S. data says
NEW YORK — U.S. deaths of moms around the time of childbirth have fallen back to pre-pandemic levels, new government data suggests. About 680 women died last year during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth, according to provisional CDC data. That’s down from 817 deaths in 2022 and 1,205 in 2021,...
Judge declares mistrial after jury deadlocks in lawsuit filed by former Abu Ghraib prisoners
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A judge declared a mistrial Thursday after a jury said it was deadlocked and could not reach a verdict in the trial of a military contractor accused of contributing to the abuse of detainees at the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq two decades ago. The mistrial came...
Report: Non-white pedestrians more often end up in the ER for vehicle-related injuries
Pedestrians who are not white ended up in the emergency room for traffic-related injuries at higher rates than white people, according to a new federal report published Thursday. There were more than 137,000 emergency room visits involving a pedestrian injury between January 2021 and December 2023. Asian pedestrians went to...
Maryland officials say rebuilding bridge will cost up to $1.9 billion, take over 4 years
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland plans to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in just over four years at an estimated cost between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion, a state transportation official said Thursday. As salvage efforts continue, authorities also announced late Wednesday they had recovered the body of a fifth...
Arizona’s Democratic governor signs bill to repeal 1864 ban on most abortionsVideo
PHOENIX — Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has relegated a Civil War-era ban on most abortions to the past by signing a repeal bill Thursday. Hobbs says the move is just the beginning of a fight to protect reproductive health care in Arizona. But the repeal may not take effect...
Mary J. Blige enlists Taraji P. Henson, Marsai Martin and more for women’s summit in New York
LOS ANGELES — Mary J. Blige is bringing her mission to empower women beyond her music to her hometown — with the help of the singer’s superstar friends. Taraji P. Henson, Tiffany Haddish and Jill Scott and other stars and experts will join Blige for her Strength of a Woman...
Average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rises for again, reaching highest level in 5+ months
LOS ANGELES — The average rate on a 30-year mortgage climbed this week to its highest level in more than five months, pushing up borrowing costs for prospective homebuyers in what’s typically the housing market’s busiest stretch of the year. The rate rose to 7.22% from 7.17% last week, mortgage...
Halle Berry shouts from the Capitol, ‘I’m in menopause’ as she seeks to end a stigma and win funding
WASHINGTON — Halle Berry is joining a group of bipartisan senators to push for legislation that would put $275 million toward research and education around menopause, the significant hormone shift women go through in middle age. The legislation calls for the federal government to spend more on clinical trials on...
Russia is violating UN limits on petroleum shipments to North Korea, the White House says
WASHINGTON — Russia is shipping refined petroleum to North Korea at levels that exceed U.N. Security Council limits, the White House said Thursday, signaling it will impose new sanctions against those involved in facilitating the transfers. The United Nations had set an annual 500,000 barrel global cap on refined petroleum...
Biden says ‘order must prevail’ during campus protests over the war in Gaza
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday defended the right to protest but insisted that “order must prevail” as college campuses across the country face unrest over the war in Gaza. “Dissent is essential for democracy,” he said at the White House. “But dissent must never lead to disorder.” Tensions...
Biden expands 2 national monuments in California significant to tribal nations
President Joe Biden on Thursday expanded two national monuments in California following calls from tribal nations, Indigenous community leaders and others for the permanent protection of nearly 120,000 acres of important cultural and environmental land. The designations play a role in federal and state goals to conserve 30% of public...
A fiery crash involving tanker carrying gas closes I-95 in Connecticut in both directions
NORWALK, Conn. — Both sides of Interstate 95, the East Coast’s main north-south highway, were shut down in southwestern Connecticut — causing “horrendous” traffic jams — following an early morning crash Thursday involving a passenger car, a tractor-trailer and a tanker truck carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline. Connecticut Ned Lamont...
‘What do we got to pay for this?’ Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call
NEW YORK — Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president. A visibly irritated Trump...
Police in Fort Worth say 4 children among 6 people wounded in drive-by shooting
FORT WORTH, Texas — Four children are among six people wounded in a drive-by shooting at a Fort Worth, Texas, apartment complex, according to police. The six were shot about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and five were taken to a hospital while one refused treatment, according to Officer Brad Perez of...
New form of mpox that may spread more easily found in Congo’s biggest outbreak
KINSHASA, Congo — Congo is struggling to contain its biggest mpox outbreak, and scientists say a new form of the disease detected in a mining town might more easily spread among people. Since January, Congo has reported more than 4,500 suspected mpox cases and nearly 300 deaths, numbers that have...
Hamas is sending a delegation to Egypt for further cease-fire talks in the latest sign of progressVideo
BEIRUT — Hamas said Thursday that it was sending a delegation to Egypt for further cease-fire talks, in a new sign of progress in attempts by international mediators to hammer out an agreement between Israel and the militant group to end the war in Gaza. After months of stop-and-start negotiations,...
Kyiv’s forces are up against a concerted Russian push in eastern Ukraine, a military official says
KYIV, Ukraine — The situation on the front line in eastern Ukraine is worsening but local defenders are so far holding firm against a concerted push by Russia’s bigger and better-equipped forces, a senior Ukrainian military official said Thursday. Russia has amassed troops in the Donetsk region in an effort...
Police move in and begin dismantling pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ encampment at UCLAVideo
LOS ANGELES — Police removed barricades and began dismantling a pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ fortified encampment early Thursday at the UCLA campus after hundreds of protesters defied police orders to leave, about 24 hours after counter-protesters attacked a tent encampment on the campus. Police detained a handful of people on campus, tying...
Ex-Nickelodeon producer Schneider sues ‘Quiet on Set’ makers for defamation, sex abuse implications
LOS ANGELES — Former Nickelodeon producer and writer Dan Schneider sued the makers of “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” on Wednesday, alleging the makers of the documentary series wrongly implied he sexually abused the child actors he worked with. Schneider filed the defamation suit against Warner...
Fraud investigator for NYC Dept. of Homeless Services charged with covid fraud
NEW YORK — A fraud investigator for the New York City Department of Homeless Services stole homeless people’s personal information during the covid pandemic, then sold that info to an identity theft scammer, federal authorities allege. Brooklyn resident Olabanji Otufale, 41, abused his position by accessing names, dates of birth,...
Appeals court rejects climate change lawsuit by young Oregon activists against U.S. government
SEATTLE — A federal appeals court panel on Wednesday rejected a long-running lawsuit brought by young Oregon-based climate activists who argued the U.S. government’s role in climate change violated their constitutional rights. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously ordered the case dismissed in 2020, saying the job of...
Over 500 baby sea turtles washed ashore in a big storm off South Africa. Here’s the rescue effort
CAPE TOWN, South Africa ) — An aquarium in South Africa is stretched beyond capacity after more than 500 baby sea turtles were washed up on beaches by a rare and powerful storm and rescued by members of the public. The little turtles are mostly endangered loggerheads and should be...
Police kill student outside Wisconsin school after reports of someone with a weapon, official saysVideo
MOUNT HOREB, Wis. — Police shot and killed a student Wednesday outside a Wisconsin middle school after receiving a report of someone with a weapon, the state’s attorney general said in the first law enforcement briefing on gunshots that sent children fleeing and prompted an hourslong lockdown of local schools....
Ex-FBI informant charged with lying about Bidens must remain jailed, appeals court rules
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected a bid to release from jail a former FBI informant who is charged with fabricating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden’s family. Alexander Smirnov’s lawyers had urged the California-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower...
Mavis Leno joins husband Jay at a premiere after dementia revelation: ‘I feel great’
LOS ANGELES — Jay and Mavis Leno donned their date-night best Tuesday at the red carpet premiere of Jerry Seinfeld’s forthcoming film “Unfrosted.” The premiere marked the couple’s second public outing since the former talk show host in January filed for a since-granted conservatorship over his wife following her advanced...
